Skin Deep Storage

Chip implants that keep track of personal information seem like a novelty but do they have a more useful future?

Mini Memory: RFID chip implants are the size of a grain of rice.

These days, some people are following their pets and getting tagged. Radio frequency identification (RFID) chips are the size of a grain of rice and can be loaded up with personal information like passwords and implanted under the skin. Instead of having to remember a login code, an RFID reader can be set up to automatically detect it and grant you access to a range of things from your computer to your front door.

It seems like it could be useful to people with exceptionally poor memories, but right now these chips are being snapped up by technology geeks like Amal Graafstra. The 29-year-old businessman from Vancouver, Canada, is one of the first people to have an RFID implant and so far is happy with the results. "I just don't want to be without access to the things that I need to get access to. In the worst case scenario, if I'm in the alley naked, I want to still be able to get in [to my house]' he says. In his chip, he has stored a unique identification number which can be used to log him into various electronic devices. It didn't cost him an arm and a leg either: he got the whole set-up on the internet for about $50 (£30), including the $2 cost of the chip itself.

The procedure to implant the chip is quite simple and painless. Amal's chip was implanted under the skin of his left hand while he was under a local anesthetic. It is possible to inject the chips using a large enough needle, but in Amal's case the chip was inserted by simply cutting through his skin with a scalpel. Other than complaining of sensitivity in the area of the implant, Amal said that it doesn't hurt and he expects that eventually the chip will be completely unobtrusive.

A hand implanted with an RFID chip and the chip reader.

The chip is made of silicon and is digitally encoded with information.. A RFID reader, which is installed in a computer or an electronic device like a reader by a front door, emits a radio signal of a particular frequency, just like radio stations each broadcast on their own frequency. The chip acts passively when it is within 3 inches of the reader: the right incoming radio signal induces just enough energy in the antenna of the chip for a circuit in the chip to power up and produce a response. The reader can then access the information on the chip and pass it on to the computer or device that requires it.